-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Gabriel García Márquez , the influential , Nobel Prize-winning author of `` One Hundred Years of Solitude '' and `` Love in the Time of Cholera , '' has died , his family and officials said .

He was 87 .

The literary giant was treated in April for infections and dehydration at a Mexican hospital .

García Márquez , a native of Colombia , is widely credited with helping to popularize `` magical realism , '' a genre `` in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination , '' as the Nobel committee described it upon awarding him the prize for literature in 1982 .

He was sometimes called the most significant Spanish-language author since Miguel de Cervantes , the 16th-century author of `` Don Quixote '' and one of the great writers in Western literature . Indeed , Chilean poet Pablo Neruda told Time that `` One Hundred Years of Solitude '' was `` the greatest revelation in the Spanish language since the Don Quixote of Cervantes . ''

The author 's cousin , Margarita Marquez , and Colombia 's ambassador to Mexico , José Gabriel Ortiz , confirmed the author 's death to CNN on Thursday .

`` We 're left with the memories and the admiration to all Colombians and also Mexicans because I think Gabo was half Mexican and half Colombian . He 's just as admired in Mexico as he is in -LRB- his native -RRB- Colombia , all of Latin America and throughout the world , '' Ortiz told CNN en Español .

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`` I believe they were somehow emotionally ready for this regrettable outcome . They knew he was suffering from a complex , terminal disease and was an elderly man . I believe -LRB- Garcia Marquez 's widow Mercedes Barcha -RRB- was getting ready for this moment , although nobody can really prepare themselves for a moment like this . ''

In a televised speech Thursday night , Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos declared three days of national mourning , ordering flags to be lowered to half-staff across the country .

The author -- known by his nickname `` Gabo '' throughout Latin America -- was born in the northern Colombian town of Aracataca , which became the inspiration for Macondo , the town at the center of `` Solitude , '' his 1967 masterpiece , and referenced in such works as his novella `` Leaf Storm '' and the novel `` In Evil Hour . ''

`` I feel Latin American from whatever country , but I have never renounced the nostalgia of my homeland : Aracataca , to which I returned one day and discovered that between reality and nostalgia was the raw material for my work , '' reads a mural quoting the author outside of town .

García Márquez was tickled that he had earned so much praise for his fertile imagination .

`` The truth is that there 's not a single line in all my work that does not have a basis in reality . The problem is that Caribbean reality resembles the wildest imagination , '' he told The Paris Review in 1981 .

A storyteller 's childhood

García Márquez 's early life was shaped by both familial and political conflict . His grandfather , a widely respected figure known as the Colonel , was a liberal military man who strongly disagreed with the political views of García Márquez 's father , a conservative telegraph operator who became a pharmacist . -LRB- His father 's ardent pursuit of his mother later inspired `` Love in the Time of Cholera . '' -RRB-

Their political disagreement came to reflect that of Colombia as a whole , a country that spent a postwar decade in the grip of what was called `` La Violencia , '' a civil war that followed the assassination of a populist leader .

García Márquez spent his early childhood with his grandparents while his parents pursued a living in the coastal city of Barranquilla .

Both his grandparents were excellent storytellers , and García Márquez soaked in their tales . From his grandfather he learned of military men , Colombian history and the terrible burden of killing ; from his grandmother came folk tales , superstitions and ghosts among the living .

His grandmother 's stories were delivered `` as if they were the irrefutable truth , '' according to the García Márquez site themodernword.com . The influence is obvious in García Márquez 's works , particularly `` One Hundred Years of Solitude . ''

In 1936 the Colonel died and García Márquez returned to his parents and their growing family . He was eventually one of 11 children , not to mention several half-siblings from his father 's affairs , a familial sprawl that also found its way into his books .

After finishing high school , García Márquez went off to college with dreams of becoming a writer . His parents , on the other hand , had plans for him to become a lawyer . Writing ended up taking precedence : When La Violencia broke out , García Márquez started contributing stories to a local newspaper and eventually became a columnist . He had also been exposed to writers such as James Joyce , Virginia Woolf , Franz Kafka and especially William Faulkner , who had turned his own patch of land in Oxford , Mississippi , into the shape-shifting past and present of Yoknapatawpha County .

In the mid-1950s , García Márquez left Colombia for Europe , a move partly provoked by a story he 'd written that was critical of the government . The distance , he later said , helped shape his perspective on Latin American politics .

For years , García Márquez had been writing and publishing fiction , including short stories in Latin American journals and a handful of longer works , including `` Leaf Storm , '' which was published in 1955 . But it was n't until 1967 with the publication of `` One Hundred Years of Solitude '' that he broke through to a wide audience .

' 100 Years ' of literary renown

The novel is set in Macondo , a town founded by the patriarch of the Buendia family , José Arcadio Buendia . Over the generations , members of the family are set upon by ghosts and visions , fall in love , dream of riches and fight in wars . Natural events take on supernatural aspects -- rains that last years , plagues that create memory loss . It is a tapestry of almost biblical proportions in which reality and spirit swirl and merge , a world unto itself -- as well as a commentary on the politics and history of the world at large .

`` The narrative is a magician 's trick in which memory and prophecy , illusion and reality are mixed and often made to look the same . It is , in short , very much like Márquez 's astonishing novel , '' wrote The New York Times in a 1970 review upon the release of the English translation by Gregory Rabassa .

García Márquez worked on `` Solitude '' tirelessly , selling off family items , living on credit , smoking up a nicotine frenzy . Upon its release , the book became an instant bestseller in Latin America and was equally successful in English . It has been estimated to have sold in excess of 20 million copies -- some sources say as many as 50 million -- in two dozen languages .

The book did n't ease all of García Márquez 's problems , however . As a vocal leftist and defender of Castro 's Cuba , he was regularly limited or denied visas by the United States until President Bill Clinton , a fan of `` Solitude , '' revoked the ban .

Clinton commented on Garcia Marquez 's death Thursday .

`` I was saddened to learn of the passing of Gabriel García Márquez , '' he said in a statement . `` From the time I read ` One Hundred Years of Solitude ' more than 40 years ago , I was always amazed by his unique gifts of imagination , clarity of thought , and emotional honesty . He captured the pain and joy of our common humanity in settings both real and magical . ''

García Márquez was also involved in a feud with onetime friend writer Mario Vargas Llosa , a Peruvian and a Nobel laureate , who punched the Colombian in the face in 1976 -- believed to be over politics but later revealed to be over Vargas Llosa 's wife .

García Márquez 's ensuing works were generally praised . They included `` The Autumn of the Patriarch '' -LRB- 1975 -RRB- , `` Chronicle of a Death Foretold '' -LRB- 1981 -RRB- and `` The General in His Labyrinth '' -LRB- 1990 -RRB- . He is said to be the most popular Spanish-language author in the world .

`` Love in the Time of Cholera , '' with an English translation published in 1988 , was a particular bestseller . The love story , which was turned into a 2007 movie , was referenced in such works as the 2001 movie `` Serendipity '' and the finale of the TV series `` How I Met Your Mother . ''

García Márquez 's style and impact have been widespread .

He is credited with spearheading `` el Boom , '' attracting attention to a generation of Latin American writers , including Vargas Llosa and Mexico 's Carlos Fuentes . Magical realism is now an accepted genre , to the point that some critics believe it has been overused .

And he prompted a focus on Latin American politics -- protesting the 1973 CIA-aided coup in Chile , calling attention to corruption and free speech issues in South America and around the world .

He never gave up journalism .

`` I 've always been convinced that my true profession is that of a journalist . What I did n't like about journalism before were the working conditions , '' he told The Paris Review . `` Now , after having worked as a novelist , and having achieved financial independence as a novelist , I can really choose the themes that interest me and correspond to my ideas . ''

He was one of the most honored -- and highly respected -- authors on Earth , particularly in parts of the world where literature is taken as seriously as politics .

`` On behalf of Mexico , I would like to express my sorrow for the passing of one of the greatest writers of our time , Gabriel Garcia Marquez , '' tweeted Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto .

Colombia 's President summed up the author 's presence on Twitter .

`` Giants never die , '' Santos tweeted .

For all of his immortality , however , Garcia Marquez preferred the here and now . Asked about the impact of dreams on his dreamlike writing , he said he 'd rather focus on reality .

`` Life itself is the greatest source of inspiration , '' he said . `` I see dreams as part of life in general , but reality is much richer .

`` But maybe , '' he added , `` I just have very poor dreams . ''

People we 've lost in 2014

CNN 's Rafael Romo and CNN en Español 's Nelson Quiñones and Ana Melgar contributed to this story .

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NEW : Colombia 's President declares three days of national mourning

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The 87-year-old is widely credited with helping to popularize `` magical realism ''

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García Márquez stands as one of the most honored authors on Earth

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The Colombian author died in Mexico City , where he lived